Creating a Sea Change • The WWF/ IUCN Marine Policy

Wed, 24 Sep 2008

Introduction

Photo: IUCN

HUMANS are terrestrial beings and our relationship with the oceans has
always been uneasy, based largely on ignorance. The oceans’ vastness –
they cover over 70 per cent of the planet – and their hidden depths evoke awe
and fear. Oceans can be dangerous places for humans, epitomized by the
sinking of the Titanic – at its time, the world’s largest ship and considered
unsinkable. Fear of the sea has given rise to the many traditional beliefs in
sea monsters, such as the kraken, which would entwine whole ships in its
tentacles, and has created modern monsters out of sharks through movies
such as Jaws.